Tesla’s Stock Price Soars as Morgan Stanley Reports It Could Lead Us to “Utopian Society” with 100% Autonomous Vehicle Penetration

Clifford Atiyeh

Feb 26, 2014

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Another day, another $1 billion for Tesla CEO Elon Musk. No joke: That’s how much Musk’s net worth increased yesterday thanks to a zealous Morgan Stanley report that helped balloon the car company’s stock by as much as 18 percent in just hours.

If one man can claim the most credit for triggering Tesla’s two-year surge on the NASDAQ, it’s Adam Jonas, the chief auto analyst at Morgan Stanley who, on his way to valuing the stock at a minimum $320 per-share price, said we would be living in a “utopian society” as soon as two decades from now due to “100% autonomous [vehicle] penetration.”

At that point, Tesla would supposedly be building more than 1 million electric cars per year. The automaker, according to its own “gigafactory” plan, would also build the country’s largest battery plant and attempt to heavily disrupt if not outright kill the electric utility business by offering packs to homeowners who wish to store energy and reduce or eliminate their reliance on the traditional grid.

Jonas, in at least three separate reports on Tesla since 2011, has rated the stock higher and higher despite Tesla’s pricey, one-model lineup and slim profit margins that may erode this year as the company retools for the gullwinged Model X crossover. In March 2011, Jonas set a $70 price when Tesla was trading at $28. Last December, Jonas pegged Tesla at $153 per share when it was trading at around $140. As of this afternoon, Tesla is soaring above $250.

Tesla’s reputation has been built on the back of its coast-to-coast network of free fast-charge Supercharger stations—some of which include an automated battery swap system—and its gorgeous, industry-leading EV sedan that we called “a good car, not just a good electric.” Not even two recalls and five reported fires have dampened the market’s enthusiasm. But with a market cap of $30.8 billion—more than half of General Motors’ $58.4-billion figure—can Tesla really claim to own every last dollar? And, as our own Aaron Robinson pointed out last December, Tesla is going to have to start earning more money, although a move into the multibillion-dollar electricity industry would be a good way to do so. Day traders may want to keep their fingers at the ready—to buy or sell.